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Marine phytoplankton Melosira sp.

Marine phytoplankton Melosira sp.
Marine phytoplankton Melosira sp.
Marine phytoplankton Melosira sp.
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399629
Moran, Dawn
Marine phytoplankton Melosira sp.
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04/18/2006
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Caption in Oceanus magazine, Vol. 51, No. 2, pg. 56-57:
Marine phytoplankton like these Melosira sp. play critical roles that have impacts on the ocean food web and Earth's climate.
Caption in Oceanus magazine, Vol. 51, No. 2, pg. 51:
WHOI scientists found that stressed or dying phytoplankton release "infochemicals" that stimulate marine bacteria to consume the phytoplankton. As a result, more heat-trapping carbon dioxide returns back to the atmosphere.
Image Of the Day caption:
They may be microscopic and single-celled, but marine phytoplankton like these Melosira sp. are not immune to the stresses of everyday life. Like us, they require essential nutrients such as iron and Vitamin B12, and when nutrient supplies diminish in the ocean, phytoplankton populations show signs of stress. Phytoplankton produce half of Earth's oxygen supply and are the base of the ocean food chain, so it's important to learn more about how they respond to such to changes as ocean acidification and pollution. Former MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Erin Bertrand wrote a playful Oceanus article on this research called "Psychotherapy for Phytoplankton."
Image Of the Day repeat caption:
In a recent study, WHOI scientists found that single-celled marine phytoplankton like these Melosira sp. can release infochemicals that signal marine bacteria to rev up their metabolisms and decompose phytoplankton faster. That rapidly converts organic carbon from phytoplankton back into carbon dioxidebefore carbon-rich particles from decomposed phytoplankton can sink to the deep ocean. So instead of being sequestered in the deep, the carbon remains in shallow waters and is recirculated back to the atmosphere in the form of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Bethanie Edwards and her Ph.D. advisor Ben Van Mooy conducted the study.
Photo by Dawn Moran
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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